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HARLINGEN — A rising generation of leaders believes the city is entering a new era.
After a year of sweeping change at City Hall, they believe newly elected Mayor Norma Sepulveda’s stunning victory is crowning the drive.
“I think people really feel that we were at the cusp of change and now we’re finally going to have our time — that we needed a change in direction,” Sepulveda said on her first day on the job Thursday. “People want change because we have evolved as a city. The Harlingen of 2022 is not the same as the Harlingen of 2002. We have evolved as a city and with that comes new people with a desire — a craving for change.”
Sepulveda’s victory caps the new city commission’s drive for change, Commissioner Rene Perez said.
“Norma’s election is the culmination of the recent change,” Perez, whom commissioners appointed mayor pro tem Wednesday, said. “The election was the biggest symbol of change that the city’s had in a quarter of a century. It’s a generational change. It’s a new group of leaders that are coming in. I think the new leaders are stepping up and (taking) more responsibility.”
Historic victory
In the May 7 election, Sepulveda pulled 3,659 votes, or 60 percent of the vote, to defeat five-term Mayor Chris Boswell, who drew 2,388 votes.
“It shows when people vote, change happens,” she said. “I think people are expressing what they feel and getting involved.”
For 24 years, Boswell helped transform the city, serving as a city commissioner from 1998 through 2007, when he won the highest elected office before going on to become the city’s longest-serving mayor.
In the election, residents also overwhelmingly passed three amendments to the City Charter setting term limits, giving commissioners more power to the appoint members to the board overseeing Valley International Airport and pushing the city’s May elections to November as part of a move to draw more voters to the polls.
Voter registration push
As part of her administration, Sepulveda said she wants to help boost voter registration.
“I’d like to ensure we’re keeping people involved and registering new voters as often as we can,” she said. “You have to keep people engaged, stressing the importance of democracy and the importance of voting.”
While most elections here draw 3 to 6 percent of the city’s 37,507 registered voters, the May 7 election drew 16 percent, Remi Garza, Cameron County’s elections administrator, told commissioners after canvassing the vote Wednesday.
“There’s room for improvement,” Sepulveda said. “To have a government representative of the people, you have to have people come out to vote.”
Sepulveda said she wants to get residents involved in her administration.
“In order to keep the younger generation here, we have to give them a voice,” she said. “Now we have this government inclusive of the people.”
Commission push for change led up to Sepulveda victory
The new commission drove changes that helped lead to Sepulveda’s victory, Perez said.
“In the past year, we’ve had a lot of changes — she’s definitely part of the change,” he said. “Things are fundamentally changing in Harlingen.”
The election’s high voter turnout shows residents are calling for change, Perez said.
“I want the people to know so they’re going to get more involved,” he said. “That’s my hope.”
First new mayor in 15 years meeting at City Hall
At City Hall, where most officials have only known Boswell as mayor, Sepulveda is meeting with City Manager Gabriel Gonzalez to begin charting her administration’s course.
“It’s been real busy the last couple of days,” Gonzalez said. “We’ve had a few meetings. We’ve talked about the transition. We’ve had a change in the mayor’s position — it’s a change.
We’ve talked about it at our regular staff meeting. She might have questions — get ready to answer questions regarding projects around the city.”
So far, Sepulveda has informally met some department heads, he said.
“I’m looking forward to giving her information on the ongoing projects in town,” he said.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to clarify the scope of the election turnout.
